BMW iX3: the 2025 production Neue Klasse steps out

► New 2025 BMW iX3 spied
► The first BMW Neue Klasse
► Next-gen all-electric SUV looms

After the hyperbole and conceptual teasers, the reality: you’re looking at the first spy photographs of the new 2025 BMW iX3, the first production iteration of Munich’s much-vaunted Neue Klasse family.

That moniker covers a major new electric vehicle (EV) platform initiative from BMW, an architecture that will cover the majority of electric BMWs launched in the second half of this decade. It will not be compatible with combustion engines or hybrids – this one really is born electric. And first up is the new mid-sized e-SUV, due to be badged iX3.

Our spies have captured the first New Class iX3 on test in Germany and the photos reveal a car that hides its radically modern hardware under a pretty comprehensive disguise. Expect the footprint to copy that of today’s X3 while the design is due to take inspiration from the landmark concept car revealed at the 2023 IAA Munich motor show.

The new 2026 BMW iX3: what to expect

Neue Klasse prototypes have started testing at BMW’s FIZ research and innovation centre in Munich and it’s the first time we’ve seen the modular EV in action ahead of launch in 2025. 

The NK matrix is highly modular and allows for front-, rear- and all-wheel drive, packaged in different wheelbases and track widths, ride heights and wheel sizes ranging from 18in to 22in.

The mid-sized platform is codenamed NA and CAR’s sources suggest that the iX3 badge will be reserved for this 3-series crossover spin-off. Expect the following derivatives: 

• iX3 40
• iX3 40 xDrive
• iX3 50 xDrive
• iX3 M60 xDrive
• iX3 M

‘The Neue Klasse represents the beginning of a new phase of operations for BMW,’ said research and development chief Frank Weber. ‘It’s scaled to allow us to build electric cars from a 2 Series-sized saloon up to an X7-sized SUV.’

Electric motors, batteries and specs

There’s a host of tech treats in store for the Neue Klasse, all aimed at making the iX3 longer of range and quicker of charge. The powertrain operates an 800-volt electrical system and the latest round LFP and NMC batteries that our sources suggest come in two sizes: 4695 and 46120. Expect better packaging than today’s electric BMWs.

Nerdy detail, but this kind of tech makes a difference to battery performance and ultimately how far you can go on one charge. Thanks to vented bottoms and a sandwich cooling system, they promise superior thermal wellbeing. The cells will be supplied to BMW specification by CATL, EDE and Northvolt from six plants in Europe, China and the US/Mexico and customers can pick 75, 90 and 105kWh battery sizes. 

Result? Thanks to a new electrical system and advanced performance electronics, it takes less than 12 minutes to bunker enough energy for the next 200 miles, using charging rates up to 270kW. The new BMW iX3 is expected to be one of the first BMWs where range anxiety takes a back seat.

I’m sold! When can I actually buy the new BMW iX3?

Production in the brand-new i Factory in Debrecen, Hungary, is scheduled to start in November 2024, but almost one more year will likely pass before the first cars arrive at dealerships. 

It’s telling that BMW Is launching the crossover first: expect i3 in showrooms in autumn 2025, a full year ahead of the three-box 3-series saloon – the car more closely presaged by the Vision Neue Klasse notchback design study (above).

And what of the iX3 design? Head of BMW design Domagoj Dukec told CAR the SUV bodystyle was perfectly synced with the new family look. ‘Our customers buy the brand first, but then they look to match their own conditions. They might say: “I don’t want to sit too low.” Many think BMW is a sporty brand, but there are different perspectives on sportiness.’

Design details spotted on this early prototype include flush pop-out door handles, large 20-inch diameter wheels and a teardrop-shaped, surprisingly road-hugging crossover look.